The Deceitful One



Tuesday, 6th October 1582.

Inside a black-colored steam car, a young man with blond hair and blue eyes was anxiously waiting, fidgeting every now and then. From time to time he looked out of the window trying to find the person he was waiting for. A trace of nervousness as well as excitement could be seen in his eyes.

A few minutes later, a beautiful young brunette lady with brown eyes and wearing a black dress, stepped out of her mansion gates and looked around. The young man got out of the car and waved at her, "Meryl, here!"

The young man was none other than Dillon McCarthy, and this was the couple that had met Bryan when he had first arrived in Nadir. Meryl gazed at Dillon and then elegantly walked toward the car. Despite that, her steps still appeared to be a little rushed.

After the girl got inside the car, she looked at Dillon in disbelief. "Did you… also have the same dream?"

Dillon nodded vigorously. "Why else would I be here?"

The previous night, both of them had the same dream, and in this dream, they had been visited by Bryan who had instructed them to meet him today. To say that both youths were shocked would be a severe understatement.

They had never experienced such a surreal and magical thing like this ever before. Communication through dreams was unheard of even in the Transcendent world.

Although the two were a little skeptical if the dream they had was true or just a figment of their imagination, but when they saw each other today, they knew the dream was indeed real. Otherwise, they wouldn't have met here at this time without prior communication.

Meryl looked at Dillon, her eyes shining brightly. "How powerful do you think Mr. Wayne must be to even do such a thing?"

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"I have no idea…." Dillon shook his head in a daze, still filled with disbelief.

Another thing Bryan had done in their dreams was to get Benny to alter their memories. Since he planned to live as Anthony Wayne for the foreseeable future, it would be unwise to leave behind any loose ends that would tie him to Bryan Lombardi.

Hence, he had asked Benny to not just alter the memories of the two but also erase their memories of Bryan. They would only remember meeting a middle-aged man named Anthony that day at the restaurant.

Dillon then snapped out of his daze and instructed the chauffeur to drive to 16 Calm Springs. He then looked at Meryl and spoke, "It's almost been three months, I really thought Mr. Wayne had forgotten about us."

Meryl nodded. "I guess, he's a man of his word." But she still felt slightly apprehensive of meeting a mighty Transcendent now. After the two had met Bryan the last time, they had a lot of time to think about their decisions.

At the same time, they had also done a lot of research on which Paths they would embark on. Hailing from Transcendent families, naturally, they had a lot of books and scriptures that spoke about the Transcendent world.

The fact that they were meeting Bryan was still a secret. None of them had mentioned this to their families. After all, their families had strictly told them that they were not to embark on any Paths and become a Transcendent until at least a couple of more years.

But being the young teenagers that they were, impatience and recklessness came with the package. Besides, the allure of the Transcendent world was too great for them. One could only call them fortunate that they met Bryan.

If it was someone else, perhaps they would have used them for their own benefit. Well, Bryan was also using them for his benefit but in no way was he planning to harm them. If anything, it was a fair deal between the two parties.

The traffic was very high in the early morning, with all the people leaving for work and whatnot. Hence, it took the couple about forty-five minutes to finally reach Bryan's house.

Bryan had already given them his address in their dreams. Thus, when Dillon and Meryl reached 16 Calm Springs, they were slightly taken aback. They found that the plot on which Bryan's house was built was actually very lavish.

Although their own houses were also grand in their own rights, that was because they hailed from a long line of Transcendent families. They never expected Bryan, who according to his persona was barely thirty years of age, to accomplish so much.

The luxurious mansion spoke volumes about the type of wealth that Bryan had. But little did they know that Bryan had actually swindled a wealthy businessman into giving away this mansion to him. For free, no less.

Dillon and Meryl looked at each other and could see the shock in each other's eyes. The latter came closer and whispered, "Mr. Wayne is actually… so rich?"

The boy nodded. His respect and admiration for Bryan increased a bit more, not because he was rich, but because he was able to achieve so much at such a young age. Not to mention, he was also a Transcendent.

He then took a few deep breaths and pressed the bell by the metal gates. A few minutes later, a brown-haired and brown-eyed middle-aged man, wearing a butler uniform opened the gates.

This was none other than Bryan's new butler, Carl. He looked at the guests and bowed slightly. He then gestured for them to come inside. "Mr. McCarthy, Miss Jones, welcome to Wayne Manor. Master is waiting for you inside."

The couple nodded and then entered the compound, they then followed behind the butler. They looked around the garden and the newly built pond and gazebo and couldn't help but feel a little relaxed.

Suddenly, Meryl's gaze landed on three figures inside the gazebo. Two of them were sitting, while the third one was standing. Squinting her eyes a little, she finally made out one of the people there to be Bryan.

Carl dutifully brought them to the gazebo, he then respectfully bowed toward Bryan and said, "Master, your guests are here."

Bryan nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Carl. Go bring some refreshments and breakfast for them."

"As you wish, master." Carl then left for the kitchen. Meanwhile, Dillon and Meryl stood there standing in shock. Their eyes weren't on Bryan or Donald, who was standing behind him, but on the lady who was sitting with Bryan.

This lady was none other than Grace! Being descendants of noble lineage, how could Dillon and Meryl not know who Grace Wilson was? She was one of the most famous nobles in the young aristocratic circles.

She was known for two things. First, it was her beauty. She was one of the most beautiful young ladies in the city. And second, and most importantly, it was her glorious streak of rejecting men.

Whoever tried to court her—in private or in public—would be ruthlessly rejected by her. No man could win her heart or catch her attention. Naturally, everyone thought that she had extremely high standards. No one would believe that she was actually into women.

So when Dillon and Meryl saw Grace sitting here, they were flabbergasted. What they were even more shocked about was the fact that she was actually with Bryan. In their minds, they couldn't help but wonder if he had won her heart.

Seeing this, Bryan couldn't help but think, 'Is Grace a celebrity or something?'

Donald, seeing that things were getting a little awkward, forced a cough. Dillon and Meryl instantly snapped out of their shock and felt a little embarrassed. In order to ease things down, Bryan got up from his seat with a smile and greeted the two.

"Dillon, it has been a while." Bryan firmly shook his hands with a smile. He then approached Meryl, bowed slightly, and kissed her hand. "Meryl, thank you for coming."

"Please sit," he gestured for the two of them to sit. They then introduced themselves to Grace and were actually shocked to learn that she and Bryan were close friends and went way back.

After making a few small talks, Grace looked at the couple and faintly smiled. "So, Anthony tells me you both are interested in being initiated into the supernatural world."

Dillon and Meryl's eyes widened. They looked at each other and then at Grace with utter shock. Seeing their expressions, Grace couldn't help but chuckle as she covered her mouth. "Is it so shocking that I'm a Transcendent?"

The couple was instantly sent into a daze. To them, it was surprising and unsurprising at the same time. They then looked at Donald who had been silent for the entirety of the duration, wondering if he was a Transcendent as well.

Bryan introduced, "This is Donald, my personal assistant. You can rest assured that he'll keep everything here a secret."

Donald looked at them and nodded. Meanwhile, Dillon and Meryl thought for a few moments and then looked at Bryan and Grace. The latter then said, "Mr. Wayne, you said you'd help introduce us to the supernatural world if we only showed you around the city."

Dillon chimed in, "We feel that it is far too cheap a price for what we will be gaining from you. Hence, we've decided that as long as you ask for something that is within our limits, we promise to help you with it."

"Oh?" Grace raised her eyebrows. "A meditation technique in return for a tour of the city? Anthony is either a fool or too generous."

Bryan couldn't help but chuckle. He then looked at the young couple and asked, "Very well, so what have you decided?"

The couple looked at each other, and then Meryl solemnly replied, "We've long since made our decision. We wish to embark on the Path of a Transcendent!"